Wordless
by Serena Tyrell
Summary: Roy and Riza didn't always understand each other's intentions so well. In the early days of their partnership, when one gets a girl and the other gets a man, assumptions fly, hilarity ensues and all hell breaks loose in the Eastern Command Center- until the two are forced to speak their minds to the one they actually care about on New Year's Eve.
1. Chapter 1 - His New Girl

**AN:** This is my first ever FMA fanfic and my first foray into writing after a 10-year hiatus. I feel super rusty but I've recently found my new OTP in Royai and I couldn't resist. They are an absolutely perplexing and amazing pair but I thought the anime was so unsatisfying in providing enough moments for our favourite couple. So please enjoy this little story, of a time before FMAB really started and Roy & Riza were just getting into their groove of Colonel & Lieutenant, and how they developed into having that relationship of wordless trust and love.

 **Wordless  
** **Ch.1 – His New Girl**

Riza Hawkeye found herself looking up at the distractingly loud grandfather clock for the umpteenth time, its monotonous _tick, tick, tick_ a taunting jab that seemed to want to fervently remind her that the Colonel was now seventeen minutes late.

She knew she shouldn't be so concerned, but it had been eight months into her job as Roy Mustang's adjutant and she was very proud to say that the now Colonel had not gotten one injury nor chastising from the higher-ups, and she wasn't about to let today be the day that streak was broken—

"Mornin'!"

Riza felt herself jump the tiniest bit in her seat as a flash of raven hair crossed her sightline and disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. She heard Havoc grumble a hello, clearly annoyed about yet another girl that had escaped his wiles because a certain Flame Alchemist had simply dared to exist. Falman, Fuery, and Breda were quick to offer their salutes and morning greetings before diving into what looked like a very productive morning.

Roy Mustang had only sat himself down for less than a minute when a huge yawn took over almost the entirety of his face. Riza found herself narrowing her eyes as she quickly scrutinized the Colonel from head to toe:

 _1\. Heavier bags than usual were visible under his naturally guarded gaze_

 _2\. His hair seemed even more unruly as a stray piece stuck up at a 90-degree angle_

 _3\. One middle button of his semi-wrinkled blue uniform had been missed_

 _4\. And was that a possible coffee stain at the edge of his right sleeve?_

Riza shifted a pile of papers in front of her, making sure every single side of it was perfectly lined up, before standing up brusquely and heading over to the Colonel's desk with pile in hand. She dropped it in front of him.

"Morning, sir."

The young man, who normally would groan at this routine, looked up at her brightly, propping his chin on two folded hands. "Lieutenant! Today's pile doesn't look so bad."

Riza felt her eyes narrow almost instinctively. The First Lieutenant was known for her keen senses and right now, her senses were heightened. The Colonel was tired, as apparent by his appearance, yet uncharacteristically jovial in his demeanour. Usually one did not equate to the other.

Yet she knew she shouldn't pry. As Colonel Mustang's subordinate, one didn't ask too many questions.

"Right, sir. I think you should be able to clear these requests from Central and also review the field reports from the Eastern skirmishes by end of day," she found herself saying, instead of the myriad of questions she wanted to pummel the Colonel with.

Roy simply gave her a curt nod, which wordlessly acted as a signal for her to return to her own pile of work.

Riza found herself returning to her desk, though a bit unnerved nonetheless. She wasn't sure why, but she was simply unnerved.

It was almost noon when the phone rang shrilly and Fuery was the first to pick it up.

The young sergeant looked up towards the Colonel with a hand over the receiver. "It's for you sir, outside line, gave the name of Isa—"

Roy immediately dropped the pen he was holding and reached for the phone on his table, the previously bored expression on his face replaced with one of animated joy. "Hi Bella! I didn't think you would call here!"

One could hear a low growl come from Havoc's side of the room and a muttered, "But you already had Sarah!" as the others pretended to ignore the light banter going on between the Colonel and this so called "Bella".

Riza felt her nerves prickle ever so slightly. Not really because it was possibly a girl on the other end of the line with the Colonel, but the fact that the call was here, to the Eastern Command Center. Was there another mission the Colonel had been tasked with? Was it so dangerous that codenames had to be involved? Why hadn't the Colonel informed the team? Or at least, her?

* * *

It had already been one full week, and everyone on the Mustang team could not contain their surprise.

Falman was whispering furiously with Breda, "Isn't is strange? I can't believe he's been talking to this Isabella girl for a week!"

Breda nodded furiously, the confusing behaviour of their Colonel making him so much hungrier than usual that he was having two sandwiches instead of one. Havoc seemed delighted that the Colonel was seemingly permanently distracted so he would have his pick of women at last.

Riza watched as the rest of the team continued to feed off of each other's theories, but decided not to partake. She knew the Colonel better than anyone else, and she could almost bet that Roy Mustang wasn't stupid enough to bring his personal life into work, and thus all the outside line phone calls had to be a coverup for something delicate. He would probably tell them about the mission soon. _It just wasn't the time yet_ , she thought to herself in earnest.

"Lieutenant?"

The rest of the gang fell silent when they noticed the Colonel poking his head back into their workspace from the office door. He had been in a meeting for the past four hours, allowing the team to gossip freely.

Riza stood up with a prompt salute, "Yes, sir?"

"I need to take off a bit earlier today, so just leave the rest of the reports on my desk and I'll get to it tomorrow morning."

And then he was fully out the door again.

Riza felt her patience snap. Who was she kidding? She wasn't going to wait for him to tell her about the mission after all. She was going to ask him directly and knowing him, he would most likely tell her.

She found herself grabbing her black overcoat and stuffing the rest of her work into her brown leather satchel. "I'm going to the library to get some records," she stated, not particularly to anyone but she felt like she had to explain herself before she stalked the Colonel out the building.

* * *

The Hawk's Eye was no layman when it came to stalking a target. She could be right around the corner and her victim would never know it until they were knocking on death's door. All the various ways for how she could kill a victim from afar, with what kind of shot at what kind of angle, were all flitting through her mind when she found herself behind a magazine stand staring at t _hem_.

There was Colonel Mustang, who had somehow very quickly changed into a civilian outfit of khaki coloured slacks and a white button down with his black overcoat flung casually over one shoulder. And next to him was a lady.

Now, Riza had stumbled upon the Colonel on a number of dates before by pure coincidence, and while it was a bit annoying that the man she had decided to follow into hell was being distracted by such trivial side projects, she didn't _really_ mind. And oftentimes, she could tell that the Colonel was smiling on his dates, but he was always distracted. He knew where the bigger picture was.

But today, she noticed from behind this month's copy of Amestripolitan Magazine, that Roy's gaze held real joy as he laughed at whatever the female standing next to him was saying. And with that laugh, his hand went to the woman's back to guide her down the street.

She followed.

They entered an Italian joint that had tacky deep red awnings and a name that sounded as stuffy as her grandfather's hobbies. Or maybe the restaurant looked very classy, but Riza's mind wasn't drifting towards positive thoughts at the present time as she found herself trying to justify how to enter.

It was as if on cue, a large group, all blonde and so well-coiffed that each sported the exact same swirl of golden hair right at the hairline, bustled on by her and towards the restaurant. Without a second thought, Riza found herself melting into the group and through the double doors.

"Miss, your group is sitting down," the hostess at the front broke her train of thought as she gestured towards the group she had snuck in with.

Riza had stopped at a standstill, her work bag still swinging distractingly on one shoulder as she scanned the room almost at an inhuman speed. She had located the Colonel almost immediately, and thankfully he was seated at the bar with the girl, their backs to the side of the front door. The entrance of the golden coifed clan hadn't broken the intensity of their conversation though.

"Oh, no, I'm not with them," Riza quickly responded, while eyeing the perfect table she would grab that would provide her the best sightline to her intended targets.

"Reservation then, miss?" The hostess seemed a bit exasperated, shifting her thick rimmed glasses and peering over them as if just noticing that the woman before her was in military garb.

Riza was not one to take attitude. She turned to the hostess curtly and stated with as much authority as she could muster at this point, "Actually, I need the table right behind that pillar," she gestured swiftly without breaking eye contact. She could feel the hostess' attitude change immediately. "This is a potential matter of state security, and if you would allow me to ensure the safety of your clientele, that would be much appreciated."

The hostess had stiffened noticeably, her gaze going from impatience to slight anxiety as she picked up a drinks menu and dinner menu from her stand and started leading Riza to her self-appointed table. "Yes, of course, sir- I mean, mam!" Her eyes were darting in all directions, as if someone would burst through the rows of white tablecloths to ambush her and Riza at any second.

Riza had to thank her lucky stars that this dinner place apparently was the hot spot in town. It was already bustling and only just six 'o'clock. Then again, Riza should have known that a man like the Colonel would know exactly where to take a lady on a date.

She wondered why her mood was so sour.

She quickly distracted herself by propping open one menu in front of her and pretended to look engrossed in today's specials. Everything sounded heavy and full of meat. Disgusting. Or actually, delicious, she loved meat. She couldn't keep her thoughts straight.

From her position, she could see that Roy had just handed over two books to the girl. The girl. She was more a girl than a woman. She had a youthful glow about her, with her dark locks swept high in a voluminous bun.

 _Books?_

Riza felt her gaze narrowing again, which seemed to be a habit of hers whenever she wanted to mask her uncertainty. _Books?_ She thought incredulously. Did Roy Mustang even read himself? What was he doing giving a girl _books_?

The girl was delighted. Perhaps she was in her 20s, but it was clear to Riza that this girl hadn't seen the hardships that she herself had seen in her early 20s.

The girl had immediately turned to a page of one of the relatively thick volumes that the Colonel had handed her. She paused, suddenly engrossed, then took her fork off her plate and pushed everything else aside. A few seconds later, Riza could only see the ends of a familiar glow, but she had been around too many alchemists to mistaken it for anything else but that.

The girl had just performed alchemy.

Her eyes widened in surprise and she saw Roy laugh in response to the girl's pure joy at her successful transmutation.

Riza suddenly felt a strange feeling that she hadn't ever really felt in her life. Or maybe she had, when her father passed and she felt like she had lost something that had always been there. Even though her father had been a quiet man, he was a constant presence that had disappeared.

And now she was feeling that tug, that tug that made her feel like something was trying to physically detach itself from her.

The girl offered the Colonel on her outstretched palms a silver figurine of a dog.

Riza found that tugging feeling intensify, and then dissipate. It was like there was nothing and no one else around her now. Nothing and no one else left to leave her. The humdrum of all the restaurant patrons mingled into the strings of the violin music playing in the background. The glow of the lights blurred into one gentle haze.

"Are we safe yet, mam?" Came the desperate hiss of a waitress that had evidently been informed by the hostess of the very dangerous situation the restaurant was in.

Riza snapped out of it and looked up at a fearful looking mousy girl. She mustered a small smile at the girl while standing up, "Yes, miss, please let your staff know that the coast is clear. The suspect at large has been confirmed to be dining at another restaurant down the street."

The young waitress looked visibly relieved as Riza quickly excused herself and exited into the chilly autumn air of East City.

* * *

It was only eleven at night, but her sheets were already a bit damp from sweat and the moonlight creeping in through her too-thin blinds was not beautiful tonight but distracting. Riza rolled over again and found herself staring at the stark white ceiling above her.

She had come home, her mind quite blank despite her eventful night of sleuthing, and gotten about to her usual routine of washing dishes she had left from breakfast and opening her fridge to see what she could whip up for dinner. She had realized she hadn't even ordered anything from the Italian restaurant, but her stomach didn't seem to be complaining.

She wasn't hungry.

So, she had taken a shower. She always preferred showers because it got the job done and it didn't seem to waste as much time as a bath.

She had felt completely fine until she found herself in bed at nine, staring at her bedroom ceiling, and then still staring at the same bedroom ceiling at eleven.

Damn him.

Her face hardened as she turned to her right side and pushed up her pillow with her hands, thinking it would be more comfortable. When that failed, she felt herself sigh and roll back onto her back, her face softening.

Well, at least the Colonel had found someone he could talk to. Someone he could really talk to, about all things, about alchemy, and even someone he could teach alchemy to. Riza couldn't really be a part of that. She had just been quite literally, his alchemy book. He studied her. He learned. She willingly let him learn.

He had found someone that made him laugh. A real laugh.

Riza felt her thoughts drifting towards self-pity and immediately caught herself. She sat up from her suffocating sheets and ran a hand through her tangled blonde hair. What was wrong with her?

She felt her brow furrow in frustration as she slid back under her sheets again. No, no she would not let this man make her feel like an absolute nut case. There was absolutely no reason she should allow him and his actions to make her lose sleep. And what frustrated her most was that he probably didn't even realize she was losing any sleep!

Riza found herself shutting her eyes stubbornly, as if willing her mind to immediately shut off and for the blissful darkness of sleep to embrace her.

She didn't sleep that night.

* * *

 **AN:** Hope you guys enjoyed that. This chapter is mostly set-up, and next chapter we will get to see Riza have a bit more fun and Roy not having so much fun, if you know what I mean! Let me know your thoughts :) **  
**


	2. Chapter 2 - Her New Man

**AN:** Thank you for the encouraging words from Ch.1. I hope this chapter still entertains and that you all still find it enjoyable!

* * *

 **Wordless  
** **Ch.2 – Her New Man**

She was just strapping in her pistol to her lower calf and concealing it with the bulk of her trousers when Rebecca Catalina dropped her workout bag next to her with a sigh. Riza looked up at her friend curiously.

"Something wrong?" Riza stood up to put the rest of her belongings into her locker. She was preparing for her early morning shooting practice, an activity that Rebecca occasionally joined her on.

Rebecca rummaged through her bag to retrieve her change of clothes as she was still sporting her regular civilian clothing of a nice sweater and white denim. "Just heard the usual talk in the hallway Riza."

Riza raised an eyebrow, not completely amused by her friend's baiting tone. "The usual talk?"

Rebecca glanced at her knowingly as she pulled her sweater over her head, switching into a more practical black, sweat-wicking t-shirt. "Poor Major Francis Ballard, he was apparently seen loitering around the men's locker rooms to make sure he timed his own practice time correctly."

The First Lieutenant blinked, leaning slightly on her locker as she waited for her friend to get ready. "I'm not sure I get where you're going with this—"

"Oh Riza! You're super sharp on the field and at work, but sometimes I seriously wonder if you breathed in too much sand during your time at Ishval and somehow that's clouding your mind!"

Riza crossed her arms tightly across her chest, but before she could object Rebecca was ready and beckoning her towards the training field, pistol in hand, safety on. "Did you know they all refer to you as Mustang's? The nerve," Rebecca whispered to her as they passed a group of soldiers who had quickly diverted their gazes as they saw the two women approaching.

This statement irked Riza like no other. Especially since she had, had horrible sleep for the whole past week because a certain Colonel had found a sort of happiness that didn't relate to her in any sort of way. She had tried and tried to keep all thoughts professional, and was absolutely furious with herself that her heart sometimes wouldn't cooperate.

"That's ridiculous," Riza hissed back at her friend as they found their usual target practice spot.

Rebecca nodded her head towards their two 'o' clock direction and Riza noticed from her peripheral vision that it was Major Ballard. She didn't know much about the man, except that he was a rising star in the military and apparently the current right-hand man of one Brigadier General Olivier Armstrong, who was eyeing a promotion to Major General of the North. He was quite tall, at 6'1", with chestnut locks that he obviously kept neat by running just enough product through it for it to look natural.

"Riza, you've seemed a bit distant all week, so I'm just saying, if you need to get your mind off of work, there's plenty of distraction to go around," Rebecca suggested as lightly as possible.

Riza closed her left eye and held up her pistol, turning the safety off and lining up her eyesight with the target. "It's just been busy. The Colonel has been going out on a lot of field investigations and hasn't been on top of his daily administrative duties."

Her shot hit the target square in the head. She lowered her arms, pleased.

"And that's exactly why you're getting the moniker 'Mustang's girl'!" Rebecca could not keep the impatience from her voice.

Riza scoffed, "I'm simply his First Lieutenant. Also, I'm not sure what world you're living in but I do not have plenty of distractions."

Rebecca laughed, almost a cackle. "Are you serious? I can name almost a dozen men from the East City Squadron that have massive crushes on you! But they're so intimidated that they can only silently sulk."

Riza was reloading two more bullets into her pistol, letting Rebecca's words sink in slowly. Rebecca took this as a chance to continue to enlighten her friend, "So you do realize what's going on then, right?"

Riza finished reloading and stared at her friend in blank confusion.

Rebecca sighed, lining up her own shot and pulling the trigger.

"You, my friend, have been severely cockblocked by Colonel Roy Mustang."

Riza felt her jaw drop slightly as she lowered her gun, looking around her as if for the first time and noticing her fellow officers as if for the first time. The handful of military personnel on the training grounds, mostly men, all of sudden seemed more animated than before, busying themselves and looking in all directions except at her and Rebecca.

Was it true? Did she actually have options? Was she desirable?

Was Roy Mustang ruining her game _and_ her life?

Riza felt the frustration that had been her constant companion all week flare up again. Without further ado, she looked towards Major Ballard, who had diverted his eyes a bit too slowly. Riza was able to catch his dark green gaze with her own, and her stare was probably giving off a much too intense vibe, but she could care less. Hell, she was desirable. And she was going to get her distractions if Roy Mustang was getting his!

She marched over.

* * *

The Flame Alchemist felt another yawn coming on as he twirled a pen in one hand, chin resting on the other as he re-read the same sentence on the page before him. He'd been stuck on the same paragraph for at least the past half hour, but a quick glance at the clock told him it had only been five minutes. He groaned.

"Sir."

The comforting, familiar voice of his First Lieutenant broke him out of his daze as she appeared next to his desk, a secret skill he fathomed she had because he sometimes would never notice until she was already there, or leaning over slightly to mutter something into his ear just as he was about to doze off.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" He looked up, keeping his expression neutral and trying his best to look like he had been taken out of immense concentration.

Riza Hawkeye had her coat on, bag across one shoulder. He noticed his eyes flitting to the clock again. Strange. It wasn't the end of the day yet.

"The rest of the reports needing your review are in front of you and I've cleared my pending documents. May I be excused early, sir?" Riza's gaze seemed hesitant, but her voice was firm and controlled.

Roy found himself immediately surprised, though he tried, once again, to keep a neutral expression. The Lieutenant never really left early, in fact, she was always the last one out and usually the first one in. He could see the rest of his team perking up their ears, curious to what their Colonel and First Lieutenant seemed to be awkwardly conversing about.

"Er-, um, yes, of course Lieutenant. If your work is done—"

"Thank you, sir," Riza responded swiftly with a dutiful salute and turned to go.

Roy found himself left with his mouth slightly agape. He hadn't even asked her why yet, but of course, he was glad he hadn't been given the opportunity because he probably wasn't supposed to ask. As Riza Hawkeye's direct superior, maybe he wasn't supposed to pry.

"Colonel," he heard Havoc's voice break the silence, the Second Lieutenant evidently trying to muffle the amusement in his tone as he had caught the Colonel simply staring after the blonde woman that had already exited the room a minute ago.

Roy found himself furrowing his brow and getting up. He wasn't a war hero for nothing. When his instincts told him something was off, something was most definitely off. He pretended to tidy up the papers on his desk, but secretly wished he could just snap his fingers and be rid of them so he could focus his entirety on figuring out what his First Lieutenant was up to. He grabbed his coat off the rack next to him.

"I just remembered I have to visit the 13th block to check on the results of yesterday's inspection. If the First Lieutenant returns, let her know I'll have the reports reviewed by tomorrow."

Fuery, Falman, Breda, and a grinning Havoc watched as their expressionless Colonel swiftly left the room.

* * *

Roy prided himself on basically being able to do anything. He could provide immense destruction with pinpoint accuracy, could woo girls from the South to the North, and even tell you about the origins and production methods of Amestrian scotch and the delicate tasting notes of Xingese whiskey. So, he didn't need to pat himself on the back when he was easily able to track his First Lieutenant entering a side street just a block from Eastern Command.

He noticed immediately that Riza Hawkeye had let her blonde locks down and was sporting a lilac turtleneck with a rather fitted black skirt. Roy didn't know why, but he took comfort in knowing that the length of the skirt probably allowed his First Lieutenant to easily conceal a firearm…

 _A man!_

He found himself stopping in his tracks, just behind a large plastic model of an ice-cream cone that the café he had almost ran into was using as some sort of advertisement. Roy found his eyes widening as he saw this strange man greet Riza with a double-cheek peck on either side of her face. The Lieutenant seemed surprised by the gesture, the slight flush on her cheeks betraying her otherwise well controlled face.

Roy found himself hoping that Riza had a rather hefty fireman strapped under that skirt of hers.

The two of them entered a restaurant directly across from the café. Roy took a step forward automatically, but then felt utterly idiotic.

What was he doing?

Riza Hawkeye was probably not under any threat. She could take on any man- though this man was a bit tall, Roy couldn't help but think. He then found himself wondering why he was 5'8", but what did that matter?

Did Riza prefer taller men?

Roy caught himself and sighed. What was he doing?

"Sir, we're offering two for the price of one today!" A childish voice interrupted him from his insane thoughts and he nearly jumped back in shock.

He looked around himself almost wildly and finally found the source of the voice; a girl around ten sitting on the other side of the open-air café counter, leaning almost entirely over the bar so that she could yell at him about some deal. Roy blinked.

"Sir, do you not like ice cream? Mama said we're offering two for the price of one—"

"Oh Hazel, are you scaring this poor man?" A woman came from inside the café and approached them, hands on her waist as she pulled the little girl back to the safety of her café stool. She glanced at Roy with a sheepish smile. "Well, did my daughter tell you about today's deal?"

Roy found himself blinking again, then staring towards the restaurant door that his First Lieutenant had disappeared through with that strange man. He then glanced back at his position across the way, at the little girl, then at the little girl's mom. An idea struck, and it seemed less crazy than storming into the restaurant, gloved hand ready.

"Yes, I'll take ten!" He said with zealous, propping himself down on a stool. Roy then decided that he should probably move the plastic man-sized ice cream cone advertisement more closely in front of him. There. He was more obscured now.

The woman and the little girl stared at him in return.

"Um, sir, so that means you can get twenty ice cream cones—"

"Excellent!"

Roy was ready to wait this out. Yes, yes he would. He'd find out what they were up to, him and his army of ice cream cones…

* * *

He knew he was late, and definitely more late than usual. He was in fact, almost an entire hour late but he had only finally been able to throw on his military uniform thirty minutes ago. And the drive over. He almost physically shuddered as he remembered the bumpy ride, one arm clenched slightly at his gut as he opened his office door.

"Yo," Roy mumbled to his gang as he slouched into the office. He hadn't even bothered to shave this morning, but as if on cue, his stomach rumbled again, laughing at him for even thinking about shaving. He cringed, quickly sitting down and leaning back in his chair. It was going to be a long day.

And who knew there was something such as lactose intolerance.

Falman, ever the observant one, was the first to pipe up. "Um, sir, are you okay?"

Roy felt another pang in his stomach and decided to picture it was just like being punched in the gut. Yes, he was just on the battlefield and being beat up relentlessly in the stomach. He could deal with that. He'd gone through worse.

"I'm fine Falman, as you were," he tried to respond in a commanding tone as he finally took the time to observe the room. He immediately noticed that Riza Hawkeye was not at her desk. This energized him immediately. He had gone through twenty ice cream cones and even then, he had to order another four until he had even seen the First Lieutenant leave the restaurant with that man. By that point he had already felt so sick that he couldn't even follow them but instead made great friends with the café's restroom.

"She's just getting the archival information you requested for two days ago," Havoc offered knowingly, cigarette lit in hand.

Roy found himself glaring at his Second Lieutenant and was about to call him off when the door opened again to reveal Riza entering with folders in hand. She seemed to sense the tension in the room as she stared from the Colonel to Havoc and back again.

"It's nice of you to join us, Colonel," greeted Riza, almost in a berating way as she dropped off the folders next to his unfinished reports. "I was beginning to think you were skipping out today when you weren't in by 9:45."

Roy felt his fists clench ever so slightly. The nerve of this woman! Here she was, chastising him for being late when he was only so damn late because he had been rendered useless all night and at the mercy of nature's call—

"Sir, you don't look well," Riza's tone had changed to that of slight concern. She was peering at him intently.

He felt sweat starting to build on his forehead. Just another battle. Just a punch in the gut. No big deal. "I'm fine Lieutenant," he managed to stare back at her, slightly defiant. "How was your evening?" He heard himself asking before his mind could catch up. He cringed, hoping no one noticed.

Riza stepped back, the surprise clear on her face. Why was the Colonel asking her about her evening? Especially since her evenings were usually so routine, except, of course, yesterday evening when she had actually quite enjoyed herself on a date with Major Ballard. The Colonel sure had impeccable timing, she mused.

"It was fine," she answered, unsure of what else to say. "If you're sure you're fine…you look a bit off colour—"

"I'm fine!" He almost barked back and started grabbing at the folders she had freshly placed on his desk. What were these damn folders for anyways? Did he ask for archival evidence? He couldn't remember, because his gut was now doing summersaults.

His First Lieutenant reluctantly started walking back towards her desk, but it was when she turned her back to him that he noticed it.

Her usual red coloured hair clip wasn't there. He made sure to look again, but sure enough, sitting snug in her hair was that of an emerald green looking barrette. It even seemed like the base was made of some sort of natural wood, the green glint coming from what looked to be an emerald crystal vine pattern.

Roy Mustang was almost beside himself. Was someone giving presents to his First Lieutenant after one date? Who the heck gave intimate presents like hair clips after one date?! Unless, of course, this wasn't a first date and this thing of Riza's had been going on for a while. Maybe that was why she had been so distant lately.

His anger unchecked and his gut still complaining from twenty-four ice creams, he found himself almost shouting, "Lieutenant! I think you need to bring your uniform into the tailor's because it seems to have shrunken in the wash. Military regulations require all uniform to be at ankle length!"

He could feel five pairs of eyes staring at him as if he were the craziest man in the world, but he'd be damned if that man even saw his First Lieutenant's pinky toe.

Riza slowly turned to look at him, one eyebrow raised in half confusion and almost amusement. There was something clearly wrong with the Colonel today, and not only because his complexion was that of a clammy green sea creature, but because he apparently wanted her to join the convent. She decided to let him off the hook this time and simply nodded.

* * *

 **AN:** I love when Roy is a bit crazed (maybe that's why I also enjoy Ed and Roy banter a lot) and lets his jealousy go unchecked, and I felt bad for leaving Riza in such a mood last chapter. Stay tuned for the next chapter, where the usually mundane and routine Eastern Command Center gets a bit uncomfortable ;)


	3. Chapter 3 - Cold Office

**AN:** Merry Christmas everyone! I'll be going away on holiday so updates will be a bit slow. I'm thinking this story will probably have 2 more chapters to wrap it up. Hopefully the journey has been short and sweet for you all!

* * *

 **Wordless  
** **Ch.3 Cold Office**

It was a very crisp November morning and Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc was grinning to himself as he reminisced about his amazing date yesterday with the angelic-looking Marta from the neighbourhood flower shop. As he crossed the street towards Eastern Command, his grin started slipping as he stopped dead in his tracks to look up at the foreboding building before him. Was it always so tall? Did it usually cast such a long shadow?

He continued to stare at the building with great hesitation.

"Yo, marveling at the architecture?"

Havoc was in mid-puff on his cigarette when the familiar voice of his comrade Vato Falman stopped short next to him. The older Warrant Officer glanced at Havoc, then glanced at the building. Havoc half-smirked in response.

"You know, at first I thought it was a great thing you know. The Colonel and his girl…"

Falman nodded slowly in agreement.

"Also, it was nice to see Lieutenant Hawkeye having a more well-rounded life," the voice of Heymans Breda chimed in. Havoc and Falman didn't even flinch at the new voice that joined them, with both only nodding in acknowledgement.

"There are a lot of phone calls to filter through too," stated the last of the group to join the three standing stoically in front of the gates. Kain Fuery tilted his head towards his colleagues as a quick greeting before turning his gaze to follow that of everyone else's.

The four almost sighed in unison.

Breda was the first to break the silence. "So, what's the tally at right now?"

Falman responded numbly, "Hawkeye 15, Mustang 2."

The four sighed again in unison.

No, Jean decided, the architecture of Eastern Command was nothing to marvel over. But the tense, chilly atmosphere of Colonel Roy Mustang's office was definitely something to be weary of, if not downright fearful…

* * *

 _Oct 19, 14:11_

The team was almost certain that the Colonel was about to stare so hard at the clock that it would burst into flames without the Flame Alchemist even needing to raise a hand.

At precisely eleven minutes past two in the afternoon, Riza Hawkeye entered the room and immediately paused at the entrance when she saw all eyes staring at her.

"Is something—"

"Lieutenant! It's eleven minutes past lunch break!"

Riza had stared at the Colonel in surprise as she glanced at the clock, then tried to hide the laugh of disbelief threatening to break free from her lips. She went over to her seat and sat down without another word. The Colonel had become so ridiculous lately.

This seemed to irk the Colonel even more as he leaned over against his desk, pushing aside three tall stacks of papers that had been obscuring his view of the Lieutenant. "Do you care to explain—"

"Sir, I am working on next week's reports already and the requests from Central," Riza intercepted promptly and met the Colonel's crazed gaze with level eyes. "I see that you still have the same amount of paperwork that I left you with at 13:11 o'clock." She pretended not to see the Colonel's jaw drop and opened the file in front of her. "And sir, I was in the belief that we had a floating lunch hour as long as we took an hour and an hour only."

She was pleased to notice that the Colonel was struggling to find an appropriate response, and decided it was about time to get straight back to work.

The rest of the team pretended to be busy, but not before Havoc quickly mouthed "Hawkeye, 5!" and dived his blonde head behind a folder.

* * *

 _Oct 23, 09:05_

Riza had to do a double take to make sure she wasn't seeing incorrectly, but no, her eyes were just as sharp as they ever were. The crisped leaves of the vase of flowers she had put out on the conjoining desks of her colleagues were very much… _crispy_.

It was as if the vase of crisped flowers knew they were being scrutinized, as right then the head of what was once a yellow tulip cracked off and hit the desk with a soft crinkle.

Riza stared. She had sworn the darn thing was lush and alive just yesterday when she left work. She _really_ didn't know how to take care of plants.

As she was emptying the vase out in the trash, Falman and Fuery entered, saw her at the trash can, and mouthed to each other, "Mustang, 1."

* * *

 _Oct 28, 12:00_

The gang looked up in surprise as the First Lieutenant plopped down a stack of Tupperware at the table. "I brought extra lunch today!"

Havoc leaned in closer, scrutinizing the contents through the containers, "It looks awfully…green."

Riza Hawkeye propped her hands on her waist and declared, "You all don't eat enough vegetables."

To everyone's surprise, the Colonel had joined them around their desks and was already diving into one of the containers next to Havoc. "The First Lieutenant is right! Eat your greens, men!"

Riza nodded in agreement and was glad the Colonel was finally being relatively normal today. It had been a strange few weeks.

Fuery reached out to take one of the packed lunches but couldn't help but glance at the First Lieutenant curiously. "This is new. You never bring lunch for us."

Riza beamed, "Major Ballard noticed that I don't eat enough vegetables so he took it upon himself to make extra."

Havoc found himself attacked by a face full of chewed salad that had projected out of the Colonel's mouth.

Breda turned to Falman, "Hawkeye, 10."

* * *

 _Oct 29, 15:27_

The Colonel couldn't help but feel agitated lately. The plain, stark walls of the office looked dull and chipped. He should probably request for a new paint job. His desk creaked if he leaned too hard on it. Maybe he could ask for a new desk too. The air was a bit stale in the room. Maybe he should take a break.

The phone rang so piercingly that he thought his brain would explode.

The Flame Alchemist looked up sharply towards the direction of the agitating sound and saw that it was the phone on his First Lieutenant's desk that was ringing. Riza Hawkeye was already reaching for it when he found himself snapping, "NO PRIVATE CALLS DURING WORK HOURS!"

First Lieutenant Hawkeye had glanced at him briefly before proceeding to pick up the phone anyhow. Roy Mustang found himself wanting to burn something.

"Yes, right," he heard Riza say into the phone. He felt a vein throb.

"Yes, you're right. It should probably be that date," Riza continued and was jotting something down on a paper pad in front of her. "I'll let him know."

She hung up, and before Roy could open his mouth again, she turned to him and stated, "Central wanted to double check the resolution date you put on Case #41593. They said you probably meant September 24, 1910, not 1810."

Roy stared.

Breda choked on his water but the rest of the gang definitely heard a gurgling, "Hawkeye, 15."

* * *

 _Oct 31, 17:43_

Riza was pretty satisfied with the day's work. The Colonel hadn't taken too many breaks and there hadn't been any random inspections he had needed to conduct. She found herself slowly tidying up her desk as the rest of her colleagues started to do the same.

A soft knock came at the door.

Everyone looked up just as the door cracked opened to reveal a female in her 20s poking her head in. Riza immediately recognized the face and felt herself stiffen involuntarily.

The Colonel's surprised but happy voice interrupted her from her trance.

"Isabella! What a surprise!"

Isabella smiled brightly as she fully walked into the office space, and it was only then that Riza noticed the girl was wearing ridiculous fuzzy cat ears and what looked like an awfully tight black dress underneath her big wool coat. What sort of sane adult would be wearing fuzzy cat ears?

"I thought you might not be prepared for tonight's party so I brought you these!" The girl, as Riza had decided to label her as, pranced in brandishing something small in her hands and stopped in front of the Colonel's desk to present the item.

Roy Mustang looked a bit sheepish as he took the item from the girl's hands. Riza squinted and noticed they looked to be…something pointy and curved…

"Thanks, I was just about to pack up and meet you," the Colonel explained as he stood up to grab his things. The girl must've felt all the eyes in the room on her because she had suddenly turned around to survey them all.

Roy noticed and quickly waved across the room. "Oh, right, how rude of me. These are my most trusted men—"

He heard Falman clear his throat stiffly.

"And women—woman," Roy found himself adding awkwardly as he felt a strange pressure coming off of the intense stares from his team. To top it off, he felt like he couldn't turn all the way to the right where he knew his First Lieutenant was. There was an intensity from that corner that even the Flame Alchemist felt like he should not try to battle.

Isabella waved cheerily at the group. "So nice to meet you guys! I've always wondered who Roy worked with!"

The group all smiled and waved politely. Riza kept her gaze steady and simply nodded curtly.

The Colonel took this as his cue to quickly exit, popping whatever the item the girl had given him into his mouth. They were fangs.

Riza couldn't help but stare as the two made their way out the door. Since when did the Colonel ever play dress up? The child lady was definitely not a good influence on the man whose sole goal in life was to become Fuhrer.

Falman cleared his throat again after an undiscerning amount of time had passed. "Lieutenant," he nudged, getting no response. The officer cleared his throat again. "First Lieutenant!"

Riza snapped out of her thoughts and automatically went straight back to packing up her bag. "See you guys tomorrow," she said automatically as she grabbed her coat and left without another word.

Havoc had just finished lighting a cigarette. "Mustang, 2?"

Everyone else nodded in agreement.

* * *

Roy Mustang found himself wondering how he had gotten himself into the situation at hand. He never celebrated Halloween, nor did he understand what the holiday was even for. He glanced down and saw the tips of the fuzzy cat ears that Isabella was sporting atop her dark locks, then shifted the fake vampire fangs he himself was now wearing. It was quite uncomfortable and made swallowing awkward. They continued down the street.

Isabella grabbed his arm and started pulling him towards the familiar brick building that he frequented often.

"C'mon Roy, I was supposed to help with some setup."

Roy sighed and let himself be pulled. "I'm sure Madame will be fine with one less pair of hands on deck."

"Mom will still nag at me for having poor time management skills," Isabella responded with a huff and hurried ahead herself and through the door of Madame Christmas' establishment.

The Colonel let himself smile slightly and paused at the door. It was a good thing really. Chris Mustang was basically his only true family left in the world and he was happy for the woman that she had reconciled with _one_ of her estranged daughters.

He was well-versed with Chris Mustang's colourful past. Growing up under the woman's care, he had seen her fair share of suitors and her dramatic romances that usually exploded in screams and furniture being flung. Nonetheless, she had explained to him it was all for love. And sometimes love would create children.

Isabella was one of them. He wasn't sure if she was daughter number three, or if she was daughter number four, but he was glad to see that one of his cousins had turned out with a sensible enough head and a natural talent for alchemy. Roy had been surprised when Chris Mustang told him about the appearance of her daughter in East City a few months ago and the usually unfazed woman had felt a bit nervous about trying to rekindle any form of relationship with the girl. Naturally, Roy had been roped in to help bridge the relationship.

He found himself rather fond of the younger girl. She was hopeful, enjoyed some rather silly things in life still, but had a good heart. He frowned suddenly as he remembered why he was rather happy that he had her as a distraction in life recently.

That damn Major Francis Ballard.

Once he had identified the man, he had gone on a rather long "inspection" but had actually nestled himself inside the Eastern Command archive room digging up all things Ballard. He had learned that the taller man had gotten his State Certification only a year ago, but was already quite well known for his ability to bend earth-based materials.

He had rolled his eyes. What help would a bunch of flowers and trees be when war brought raining hellfire? Useless man, he had thought.

"Roy!" He heard the annoyed hiss of Isabella as she poked her head out the door again to wave him inside. "I need help lighting all the candles. We're doing a fully candlelit party tonight so that it's appropriately spooky."

"Ok, ok," he sighed and found himself taking out those ridiculous fangs.

* * *

Riza was the first one in. She was oftentimes the first one in lately, and she didn't mind that she got a quiet ten minutes to herself before her colleagues would slowly trickle in. In fact, she relished the eerie silence caused only by the fact that she was the only person in the room. Lately the room had been eerily silent even when the whole gang was here. Or more like, everyone except the Colonel had become eerily quiet, as if waiting for something.

On cue, the rest of the team started coming in. Riza said a rather cheery good morning to them, in which she received half enthused responses in return. What was up with everybody lately?

Riza knew what was up with herself. She had developed quite a wonderful friendship with Major Ballard, who had become sort of her go-to lunch buddy most of the days. Sometimes they would even grab a meal after work.

She had to emphasize the thought on friendship.

Yes, after a dozen conversations over various meals, Riza Hawkeye had learned that one Major Francis Ballard was absolutely lovesick. And no, not lovesick with one Riza Hawkeye, but in fact, with another impressive and intimidating blonde- Brigadier General Olivier Armstrong.

What Rebecca had caught as sad, pathetic pining was in fact, just another frustrated soul that needed a listening ear. Riza felt a faint flush rise to her cheeks when she remembered one rather direct conversation with Major Ballard at dinner two weeks ago.

"I assumed as much that you were in a similar situation as myself," Ballard had said while picking up a forkful of salad.

Riza had simply stared at her new friend in confusion, hesitating to bite into her breaded pork cutlet.

"How long has it been?"

Riza had still just stared at Ballard quizzically until the Major, also a State Alchemist revered for his natural ability with Mother Earth and all things green, had sighed in exasperation. "You and Mustang! That guy, let me tell you the things I hear about him," he scoffed. "Don't even know why a lovely woman like yourself would be interested!"

Riza had fully dropped her fork at that point and was trying to contain the rising redness to her cheeks. "Excuse me?" She had feigned ignorance, though clearly without much conviction.

Ballard had grinned then and continued eating. "I knew I was a goner the first day I was assigned to Oli—I mean, General Armstrong's unit. That unrelenting strength, that focus, absolute focus…" his grin had fallen slightly then. "But it's impossible. I'm a direct subordinate. I don't know how you do it."

The First Lieutenant had found it quite amusing then, how strange this relationship had turned out. But she also remembered feeling a great weight lift ever so slightly from her chest. Ah, another forbidden military romance. Another unrequited love. She wasn't so alone in her foolishness after all.

And ever since that meal, Major Francis Ballard had helped First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye sort through her ever frustrating but ever present feelings towards her direct superior.

* * *

 **AN:** I was definitely inspired to write this mostly lighthearted "log-form" chapter from the original FMA series episode 37. And yes, I realize Madame Christmas actually lives in Central, but for the purpose of this story, she has an East City joint ;) Hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it, and let me know if you have any comments (especially in terms of characterization!) .


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